Ethan Zohn: Standing Up to Cancer, the Second Time Around

'Survivor' winner and 'Everyday Health' co-host Ethan Zohn describes what it was like hearing that his Hodgkin lymphoma had returned, how he's planning on beating it again, and why it was so important for him to run the New York City marathon.

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FRIDAY, Nov. 4, 2011 — Ethan Zohn has his game face on. Not only is he preparing another round in his fight against Hodgkin lymphoma, a rare but treatable blood cancer, he is also running the ING New York City marathon on Nov. 6.

Here, Zohn opens up about what it was like hearing
that his cancer
had returned, why he was so headstrong about running those 26.2 miles
despite the fact that he's already started chemotherapy, and how he plans on
kicking cancer’s ass (again).

Update: Zohn finished the race — his second marathon in as many years — in four hours, 20 minutes, and 46 seconds.

Everyday
Health: Why did you decide to go ahead and run the New York marathon less than
two months after learning your cancer had returned?

Ethan
Zohn: Well, I had been training for the
marathon for freakin’ four months. I’m not going to let some little
cancer diagnosis make me pull out. That’s ridiculous.

One of the things that gives me so much is pleasure
is going out for a jog. And cancer isn’t going to slow me down.

EH: So I take it that you’re not going to use cancer as an excuse for a
slow race time?

EZ:
This year, Aaron Scheidies, who’s blind and a paratriathlete, is running
with my charity, Grass Root Soccer. And I’m guiding him. So at first I was
thinking I would just blame it on him if we were going slow. But, you know, he
can run like a 2-hour, 40-minute marathon, which is ridiculous.

It’s so cool because I want to do everything in my
power so that someone else doesn’t have to go through the same crap that I’m
going through, whether it’s HIV or cancer. So for me it’s important to run the
marathon and send that message of hope to everyone out there, and raise
awareness and money for some really important causes.

EH:
What were your first thoughts when you learned that your cancer had come back?

EZ:
Of course I was completely filled with fear, anger, and frustration. But on
the flip side, all of a sudden that became energy and gratitude and love.

In the cancer world, there are winners and losers.
You either beat cancer and you win, or you lose to cancer and you die. There’s
no in-between. And the reality of my situation is that I did everything I could
in my power to beat cancer, but it came back.

And I’m not a failure. It’s a reality. That’s what
my life is like now, and that’s what it’s like for so many people out there.

EH:
Did you have a premonition that something was off?

EZ:
So there are a lot of symptoms associated with Hodgkin
lymphoma, like fever and night sweats, and one of the lesser known
ones is itching. Have you ever had an itch where just can’t scratch it enough?
Like you can’t satiate it? Where your finger could dig a hole in your leg?
That’s what it’s like all the time, all over my body, with no rash.

The
first time around I let it go along without knowing what it was. And then when it happened this time, I was like, Oh gosh, it’s coming back.

EH:
Once you received the diagnosis, was it go-time for your recovery?

EZ:
We actually held off treatment until we were finished filming Everyday Health. I
didn’t want to derail the show because, for the people we were meeting with and
filming, this was their moment and time where they’re able to share their story
and be that inspiration to everyone watching on TV. So whereas in an ideal
situation we would’ve started my treatment the week after my diagnosis in
September, I actually waited until mid-October to begin.

EH:
Was it difficult waiting to start treatment?

EZ:
No, because the people I got to hang out with for the show were going
through so much more difficult things than I was. And they were all so positive
and excited to give back, even in the worst of circumstances. So it’s really
good to be able to flash back to those moments. Every single one of them rubbed
off on me, and I’m taking a piece of everything I learned from each person with
me. I’m going to use their strength and power to help fuel my recovery.

EH:
You’ve become a sort-of poster boy for cancer treatment, recovery, and now
relapse. How has the public support helped you through your journey?

EZ:
I’ve been overwhelmed. There is so much support out there. Last
time I was so public about my fight that I think everyone feels like I’m just
like one of them. That’s the thing about the cancer community: We’re all
normal, everyday people. Once you hear those words, “You have cancer,” everyone’s the same. I’ve got to go to the
same doctors, get the same treatment, and go through the same crap as everyone
else out there.

EH:
How do you stay so positive and hopeful?

EZ:
One of my survival mechanisms is to stay incredibly positive, and that’s
how I’m going to survive this thing. I have to face my relapse right there,
head on, and I have this mechanism that’s going to give me confidence, control,
comfort, and all of the power I need to kick cancer’s ass.

EH:
But do you ever have bad days?

EZ:
I definitely have bad days — I’m human. But I think one of the
things with cancer is that having a positive
attitude really helps. I could curl up in a ball and feel bad, or I
can stay positive and try to turn all of those negative thoughts into positive
thoughts.

I have horrible thoughts that go through my head on
a daily basis: You know, visions of my funeral. But that’s natural, and if you
can take those moments and turn them into positive ones, then you’re training
your body to do that all the time. I think there’s a real strong connection
between the mind and body. And it’s not helping anyone — myself,
Jenna, my family, my friends — to be in a negative, depressive state.
Otherwise, I think that will kind of feed the cancer.

EH:
How is the new treatment with the “smart” chemo, Adcetris?

EZ:
It’s like night and day. It operates completely differently [where it
targets only the cancerous cells.] Traditional chemotherapy kills both good and
bad cells, so you feel horrible and lose your hair. But the Adcetris is great.
It’s a 45-minute infusion, once every three weeks.

I had a little headache, nausea, and diarrhea for
the first two days. But then I’m okay, and I’m running the marathon. I’m going
to the gym, and I’m eating. I look in the mirror and I look the same, I feel
the same. But it is just a bridge to get the cancer into remission so I can get
a stem cell transplant.

EH:
Any word yet on which brother will be your stem-cell donor?

EZ:
I heard rumors from the doctor that one of my two brothers is a match. But
they won’t tell me which one, because I might start treating him differently.

EH:
What are you looking forward to most once this chapter is over?

EZ:
The bad part about this is we had to put everything on hold in our lives
again. I feel bad for Jenna that we had to stop, but the big picture is to get
healed. And to start filming season two of Everyday Health, of course.

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